Sunday 20 February 2011

Slow Roast Pork Belly, etc

Just the thought of it makes me salivate: slow roast pork belly...
This recipe by Nigella is slightly different than many other slow roast pork belly recipes I tried, but I fully trust Nigella (and who am I to question the Domestic Goddess?). When cooking pork belly, I normally start roasting it in a very hot oven to get the crackling going; and then turning it down to moderate, letting the meat to continue cooking for several hours. Well, this recipe is the other way round. Start in a moderate oven for several hours and then crank up the heat for the last half an hour to let the skin crisp to crunchy burnished perfection.

The meat has also been marinated overnight before cooking in a delicious mixture of tahini, soy sauce and lemon and lime juice.


To accompany the pork belly, we had stir-braised cabbage with pancetta and nigella seeds (I'll post this later) and mustard roasted potatoes, a recipe borrowed from my friend Jenn at Jenn's Food Journey. Thank you so much Jenn for sharing this recipe... the potatoes were utterly delicious. We all loved it.

And for something sweet to complete the afternoon, we had chocolate pear pudding. I know chocolate and pear are a match made in food heaven, but every time I bake this, I'm always surprised by how delicious they are together. It's like fresh discovery every time. This pudding is so easy to put together and bake and eat! Serve with well-chilled cream.

Never say I don't look after my friends...

Thank you Mark, Anna and Michelle for the great company. It's always a pleasure feeding all of you. And to my friend, Kelly, get well soon. You were missed.

Time for a cup of tea and a little nap I think...

14 comments:

  1. Michael
    what an excellent meal you prepared! That slow roasted pork belly sounds amazing and I am so glad you mentioned crackle...sigh...gotta love it.
    and the rest of the meal including that chocolate pear pudding sounds so incredibly delicious!
    Cheers
    Dennis

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  2. Oh, this looks delicious! I have never made a roast pork belly before, but it looks like a lot of work. You did a great job with it.

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  3. What is pork belly? We don't have that in America but we have bbq. And president's day. Happy weekend.

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  4. Oh that pork belly looks fantastic!! I've always cooked my pork belly as you did.. high then low. Will definitely try Nigella's way next time... it looks to have come out nice and crispy on the outside!
    Glad you all enjoyed the potatoes... I told you in my email, I've made them twice already since I posted them!!!

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  5. oh Michael... you know I love pork belly... so mean of you to post this and not invite me round... I may have to sniff you out!... or just send me a bloody invite next time x

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  6. This looks and sounds like it was cooked to perfection. Looking forward to hearing about the cabbage - need to invest in some Nigella seeds.

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  7. Wow. Just thinking of the slow roasted pork belly makes me salivate too. Yum1

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  8. WAIT/...where do I sign up for one of these dinners! Bravo man, I am salivating over here.

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  9. Wow, Michael-Do you have your little private Bistro set up in your own home?...because if you do, I would like to make a reservation for 4...but of course, first I need to check my ticket reservation to see if I can afford to fly out there!
    So beautiful, and comforting! ...and looking crispy on the outside, and ever so tender and juicy on the inside...yummm!

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  10. The entire menu sounds amazing. Your slow roasted pork is perfect and I am sure your company was more than delighted :)

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  11. You don't have a baby do you, M? I haven't seen a 4 dish meal around this house for exactly 6 months and 16 days!

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  12. OK, to clear up the speculation, I have not opened a secret restaurant at my flat. But all of you are very welcome to come over and eat, any time.

    And Angela, I do not have a baby. Have you been talking to my ex? What do you know?! :)

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  13. Pork belly is my all time favourite thing in the world and yours look's amazing!!

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  14. Hi Samantha, thank you for the comment. I love, love, love pork belly too...

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